A known arrangement of a hood or bonnet 1 for a motor vehicle 3 is shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2. The bonnet 1 comprises an outer surface panel 5 (omitted from FIG. 1 for clarity), an intermediate support panel 7, and an inner panel 9. The outer surface panel 5 defines the ‘A’ surface of the assembled bonnet 1 and the inner panel 9 defines the ‘B’ surface.
The front of the support panel 7 is bent to form a first flange 11 which contacts a first cooperating surface 13 formed on the inner panel 9. Mechanical fasteners (not shown), such as rivets, are inserted through apertures formed in the flange 11 and the cooperating surface 13 to mount the support panel 7 on the inner panel 9. A second flange 15 is provided at the front edge of the outer surface panel 5 and is bent around the inner panel 9 to form a hem 17. The hem 17 thereby connects the outer surface panel 5 and the inner panel 9.
To provide access during the assembly process, the first flange 11 and the cooperating surface 13 extend in a longitudinal direction offset angularly relative to the adjacent section of the outer surface panel 5, as shown in FIG. 2. This arrangement of the support panel 7 and the inner panel 9 can cause non-uniformity in the stiffness of the bonnet 1.
At least in preferred embodiments, the present invention improves over the prior art bonnet arrangements.